Anti-acne treatment at home

Acne, pimples, blackheads, and whiteheads appear usually on oily skin due to clogged skin pores.

Though it's impossible to control all the factors that cause acne breakouts, you can take measures to reduce the problem.

Many dermatologists will ask you to go for antibiotics or creams. However, there are a number of all-natural homemade masks that you can apply to get rid of or reduce the breakouts.

Baking Soda: 

It is considered the best home remedy for acne as it sooths itching and inflamation around zits. It also removes blackheads and whiteheads.

Mix one part of baking soda and two parts of water (preferably warm), and leave this mixture on your face for about 10 minutes. You may add some honey to the mix as it moisturizes the skin. After rinsing your face, if your face feels dry, apply an oil-free moisturizer.

Tea tree oil: 

It is an excellent antiseptic and anti-microbial, thus it is great for the skin.

Make a face mask by mixing two tablespoons of distilled water, one tablespoon each of baking soda and honey, and five to six drops of tea tree oil.

Apply this mask once a day in case you have a severe acne problem.

Coriander-mint juice: 

May sound like a summer cooler, but a teaspoon of coriander or mint juice is very good for your skin.

Add a pinch of turmeric to it and it becomes even more effective in removing pimples and blackheads. Apply mixture on your face every night before retiring to bed.

Honey and cinnamon: 

Make a paste of honey and cinnamon powder and apply it on the pimples before sleeping. Wash it next morning with warm water.

Bruise cabbage leaves: 

Just mash 'em up and rub them on the offending area. Leave the juice on for at least 30 minutes or more and rinse off. Apply an astringent and see the difference in a few days.

Salt and lemon juice: 

Lemon has a drying effect, in case you need something even dryer, then mix half teaspoon salt in two teaspoon lemon juice, rub on the zit and leave on for 20 to 30 minutes. Make sure you don't step out after applying it as lemon juice has a bleaching effect and can cause sensitivity to the sun.

Homemade masks to cure back acne

Summer is the best time to flaunt a sexy back, but many women shy away from wearing bikinis or backless dresses due to back acne. If you too suffer from this common problem, try one of these homemade masks to get a glowing back.

1. Oatmeal-honey mask: 

Oatmeal helps rid of excessive oil from the pores of your back, thereby preventing acne. Cook oatmeal and let it cool for sometime. Add a tablespoon of honey and apply it on your back. Keep it on for 20 minutes and then wash it off with cold water. 

2. Tomato mask:

 A rich source of vitamins A and C, tomato is a useful home remedy to cure back acne. Crush a tomato and apply the pulp on the affected area. Wash with cold water after 30 minutes. 

3. Turmeric-mint mask: 

With their anti-inflammatory properties, turmeric and mint help prevent the spread of back acne and also reduce itching sensation. Mix mint juice and turmeric and rub it on your back. Use lukewarm water to rinse after 15 minutes. 

4. Rose-lemon mask: 

As a natural astringent, lemon removes extra oil from the skin. Squeeze lemon juice and mix it with equal parts of rose water. Apply this on the back with a cotton ball. You can keep this mask overnight and wash it off in the morning. 

5. Cinnamon-honey Mask: 

Due to its anti-bacterial properties, adding cinnamon to your diet helps fight yeast infections. However, applying this mask on your back can also effectively remove dirt and bacteria that is responsible for acne breakout. Mix one teaspoon of ground cinnamon with two tablespoons of honey. You can also add fresh lemon juice to this mixture. Rinse after leaving the mask on your back for 15-20 minutes.

Face scrubs straight from the kitchen

Try some home made face scrubs for a healthy glow

Homemade beauty solutions help you pamper you skin with gentleness and love. They save you the hassle of visiting a beauty station also. Here's how you can come up with you own scrubs.

Besan and honey scrubs

Honey is key to many face scrubs. Besan is also known to be a good nourishing and cleansing agent. Teaming the two will give your skin the required sheen and glow.

Avocado and honey combo

Both avocado and honey are said to enhance the appeal of the skin. So mixing the two ingredients in honey as a base will yield good results for the skin.

Oatmeal scrub

Combining oatmeal with honey and applying on the face also gives rise to impressive skin solutions.

Papaya magic

Papaya in honey is also a very popular and sought after face scrub solution. Papaya crushed and mixed with honey and applied to the skin gives rise to a lovely glow on the skin after you rinse the scrub off.

Orange, papaya and honey

This is another option to try out. Crushed papaya, crushed orange throughly mixed in honey applied to the face gives rise to effective and desired results.

Anti-acne masks straight from your kitchen

And while the acne and pimples are embarrassing, they're also signals from our bodies that things are out of balance. 

So take note and then start taking action. There are some simple ways that you can deal with the surface of your skin by using ingredients that you already have in your kitchen. 

Strawberry Lemon potion

Ingredients - 1 tsp lemon juice - 1 egg white - 1 1/2 tsp honey - 1/2 cup strawberries 

Preparation

• Mash or blend the all the ingredients together.
• Smooth over face. 
• Let it sit for about 10 minutes.
• Rinse with warm water. 

Apple Cider Vinegar treat 

Ingredients - 1 tbsp raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar - 1 tbsp lukewarm filtered water 

Preparation 

• Mix the apple cider vinegar and filtered water together. It's good to start with a 1:1 ratio (50% ACV, 50% water), but you might find you need to dilute the mixture more based on the sensitivity of your skin.
• Take a cotton pad or the corner of a washcloth and dip it into the solution. Spread evenly all over your face.
• Don't rinse it off, but just let it air dry, then finish with a light layer of coconut oil as moisturizer. The smell can be a bit potent at first, but don't be dismayed! The smell quickly dissipates. 

 

Baking Soda glory 

Ingredients - Lukewarm filtered water

- 1-2 tbsp powdered baking soda 

Preparation

• Put the baking soda in a small bowl.
• Slowly add water until it soaks into the baking soda and forms a paste.
• Apply the paste to your face using small circular motions. 

Cranberry magic

Ingredients - 3/4 cup cranberries (fresh berries work the best)

- 1/2 cup seedless grapes (red or green) - 4 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice - 1 envelope plain gelatin - 2 tsp oat powder (if you can't find oat powder, put some raw oatmeal in a coffee grinder or blender) 

 

Preparation

• Puree the cranberries and seedless grapes in a blender.
• Mix in the gelatin, oat powder and lemon juice and blend until it forms a paste. You can adjust the consistency by adding a little water if it's too thick or a bit more oat powder if it's too thin.
• Put the mixture into the fridge for an hour so that it will thicken up.
• Take the mixture out of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for about 10-15 minutes (unless you want a cold facial, which works well if your skin is puffy or irritated).
• Apply the facial mask and let it soak in for 20-30 minutes.
• Rinse with warm water.

Master the formula for a pretty face

A perceptual psychologist explains the science behind beauty, and how to cheat your way to it

 

Archaeologists excavating sites at Harappa and Mohenjodaro say they stumbled on pots of kohl and red iron oxide (possibly used as rouge) used by the women of the Indus Valley Civilisation. Which means the Indian woman's need for make-up dates back to 3000 BC. It's no surprise then that the Indian cosmetic industry is estimated to be worth Rs 20,000 crore.

A professor of psychology in Pennsylvania, who has been researching the science of beauty for 10 years, swears by the power of make-up to cheat your way to attractiveness.

Using online surveys, human tests and statistical data derived from a large database of faces (of mostly students), Richard Russell of Gettysburg College, says, the 'perfect' face is a combination of prominent cheekbones, full lips and a neat nose determined by the facial measurements of the general population around you.

Can your nose do the math?

A key factor in determining how close you are to this 'perfection' is explained by how 'average' you are. A deformed ear can appear ugly. Hence, the averageness of a face with a deformed ear is calculated as low. "A hooked nose, droopy eye or a jutting chin could all contribute to a lower averageness," says Russell. The less average you are, the further you are away from 'beauty'.

For instance, consider a woman with close-set eyes. The distance between a lady's eyes helps determine how attractive she is to others (ideal horizontal distance between eyes: 46%, or a little less than half, of the width of the face). The close-seteyes lady can inch closer to her goal by extending her eyeliner beyond the corner of her eyes, and giving it an upward flick.

 

For droopy ideas, make-up artiste Clint Fernandes suggests using a darker shade of eye shadow on the outer corners. "An eyeliner will help define the shape, and eye shadow will erase the crease line in the socket below the eyebrow. This helps 'lift' the eyes. Attaching fake lashes a tiny distance higher than where your real ones start creates the illusion of wider eyes," he suggests.

Your arch nemesis 

Usually, a woman's eyebrows tend to be at a higher distance away from the eyelid. This is what contributes to how the brain perceives the male and female quotient of every face. The more feminine a woman's face, the prettier it appears. This is characterised by an oblong shape, narrow jaw and high cheekbones. A man's face tends to be angular, with a firm broad jaw. Women striving to inch closer to the ideal of beauty, must therefore, pluck their eyebrows with care.

"Never tweeze or thread hair from the upper arch. Also, an arch that's too high will leave you looking permanently surprised," says Fernandes.

For higher, chiselled cheekbones, make-up artiste Celina Rajamanickam uses two tones of blush, blended.

"Use a darker tone from the base of your ear up along the cheek. The lighter shade should rest above it, and then blend the two with a thick brush," she says. Use the same rule across the sides of the nose to make it appear slimmer.

The fairer sex 

After studying the faces of men and women across ethnic groups in the US, Europe and Asia, Russell discovered that pigmentation was a key difference between the sexes. Biologically, women are a few tones lighter than men in their race, he explains. Hence, the craving for fairer skin universally.

He adds that the contrast between the lips and eyes, and the surrounding areas is greater in women than in men. Which is why, when a woman accentuates her eyes and lips with kohl and lipstick, accentuates this contrast, appearing more feminine, and thus, attractive.

The bright red vintage lipstick trend is a way to exaggerate this contrast of colours between the skin and lips. Researchers relate the fullness and colour of lips with fertility because blood flow in the face is believed to be heightened. "Steffie Paul (in pic) has naturally full lips, and highlighting them with lip gloss heightens the pleasantness of her face," explains Rajamanickam.

Learn your lines 

Correspondingly, age lines and wrinkles darken the skin. "An older woman with smartly applied make-up will look like her younger self. The idea of youth and health is hence perceived as beautiful," says Russell.

Puffiness around the eyes can be tackled with neutral tones of foundation and concealer. Fernandes suggests you use it sparingly mask blemishes and spots.